Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Cavanagh.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into a large Irish American family in Chicago, and am a Singer/Songwriter based in NYC, where I sing and run a non-profit called “A Song For You.”
I have been really lucky to make a living as a Singer, working in cities like NYC, Chicago, and Dublin, often at the intersection of music & service–gigging, writing, & bringing music to marginalized communities such as homeless youth, medically frail kids, and seniors with memory loss.
In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, I launched a music initiative called “A Song for You”…. writing, recording, & sending original songs to patients hit hardest by the pandemic. We have been so touched by the response from the community to this project.
Our work can be found in hospices & hospitals across the country, and our music can be found on all major streaming sites.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Working at the intersection of music & service is a real gift. To be able to use my voice to affect change in even the smallest way has been something that I feel very grateful for. “A Song For You” is a project that was born during the pandemic (kind of by accident) when venues had gone dark, and the world was shut down. It’s something we never thought would grow into what it has.
A Song for You is a music initiative launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic– writing, recording, and sending personalized songs to patients and families hit hardest by Covid, primarily those at the end of life. At this point, we are in hospices & hospitals and have written many songs from scratch for patients across the country –some for people who have passed away since, some on behalf of families that couldn’t be there in the room…some for the first responders, hospital staff to boost morale, nurses in isolation, mothers separated from children.
In just 18 short months, we wrote and shared over 200 songs–mostly personalized original songs written from scratch & based on each person’s life story to help their legacy live on through music after they had gone. This year, this initiative became its non-profit here in New York…and remains entirely free to families and patients as hospices are beginning to offer it as a regular service to patients. As “A Song for You” grows and moves past the pandemic, we are remaining true to our mission while growing with the times… finding through our work that our greatest passion is writing for patients at the end of life.
We are so grateful to hospital staff, artists, family & and journalists alike who have been both sharing their stories with us….. and sharing our story & work with the greater community. The response has been so generous to this project and we have been overwhelmed….. With this kind of response, musicians have been lending their own time and talent to our project…from local to Grammy-nominated to Grammy award-winning artists (artists like Jesse Harris, and Grammy nominee Sophie B. Hawkins) All these artists have written and recorded personalized songs, or have shared their songs for our families and patients.
We have been so thankful for the response from the community at large, including the press…To date, journalists from ABC to NBC to Upworthy to Medium to PEOPLE Magazine have all covered this story. We are now looking for more artists to join in, as our demand for songs has grown past our resources.
Websites… www.emilycavanaghmusic.com.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Dream big……Keep close to the people you love the most…… And never lose your sense of humor.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilycavanaghmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilycavanaghmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilycavanagh.ny
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-cavanagh-86738727/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/emilycavanaghmusic
- Other: hereisasongforyou.org
Image Credits
Jason Chua and Dara Munnis
